Betsy DeVos Sued Over Title IX Sexual Assault Rules

A national women’s rights group and three Massachusetts women filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging the U.S. Education Department’s new guidance on investigating campus sexual assaults.

The Los Angeles-based Equal Means Equal and the three women, who have separately accused their colleges of mishandling complaints of sexual assault, say the new guidance is discriminatory and violates state and federal civil rights laws. They’re asking the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts to suspend the rules and prevent schools across the country from adopting them.

An Education Department spokeswoman did not immediately provide comment. On Sept. 22, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos scrapped federal rules that were created under President Barack Obama and replaced them with interim guidance while the Education Department crafts new ones. Among other changes, her guidance allows schools to use a higher standard of evidence for reviewing complaints than the previous rules allowed.